When the pandemic struck, every workplace had to take many pains to cut costs where they could and stay afloat during the difficult season. The world and the country are still making their way towards economic recovery, but as your workplace has continued to function under the circumstances, take time to assess how you can minimize your expenses for the long term.
A sustainable method for reducing your regular expenses is to invest in energy-efficient technologies in the office. Many of these will require some shelling out initially, but as you keep using them, you will notice how your workplace is benefiting from these eco-friendly practices.
Renovate and Repair as Needed
Let’s begin not with appliances and electronic devices but with your office’s physical structures. These are often overlooked in the process of building a more efficient workplace.
How are your windows?
Believe it or not, windows play a big part in your energy consumption. With inefficient windows, you use more energy to heat and cool the various areas in your office. If you are not yet using energy-efficient windows, you are due for a window replacement.
Using ENERGY STAR-qualified windows is considered efficient because they do a good job keeping warm during the colder months and the coolness during warmer months. These maintain the temperature in your office premises better by easing the burden of space heating and cooling on your air conditioning systems.
If you have bigger windows, they also let more natural light in, letting you become less dependent on artificial light in the daytime.
Do you have water leaks or faulty wiring?
Just a few leaks go a long way in increasing your bills every month. Have a plumber fix these issues when they arise. Better yet, have your pipes and drainage systems regularly checked on by a professional to make sure these are not quietly chipping away at your business’s funds.
Water is not the only thing that could leak among your utilities. Your office may also be experiencing electricity leakage due to faulty wiring. When left unchecked and unrepaired, these make your bills more expensive and also pose a fire hazard.
Fixing your leaks and wirings helps your utilities function properly, preventing water and energy wastage.
Energy-efficient Changes to Make
Aside from fixing what needs immediate attention, you can make your workplace more sustainable by changing your regular practices, too.
1. Laptops or desktop computers?
Desktops and all the parts needed to put them together consume significantly more electricity than laptops do. Think twice before providing all your employees with desktops. If their work does not require desktops, have them use office-issued laptops instead.
Employees whose tasks are heavy on graphics or require editing photos and videos will often need desktops for easier navigation. When issuing computers to your staff, consider the nature of their work and provide them with adequate tools.
Have energy-saving features enabled in all your work computers, too, so that they will consume less energy when idle. However, remember that devices that are on sleep mode still expend energy.
2. Choose Smart Lighting
With how busy every person in the workplace is in accomplishing their deliverables, many pay little to no mind about properly turning lights on and off in different rooms. This is why smart lighting is a great help for busy offices.
Today, many smart lighting options have sensors, which automatically turn on when people are present in an area. They also have features that adjust the brightness to the user’s preferred level. Smart lighting, coupled with a generous amount of natural light, reduces your electricity consumption considerably.
3. Don’t print unless you have to.
High-volume printing both consumes a significant amount of energy and leads to paper wastage. By automating and making full use of cloud computing services, employees can become more productive, and your business can reduce costs.
As much as possible, share files and collaborate digitally via the cloud. This method is also preferable for hybrid work arrangements, which have risen in preference for many employees since the pandemic occurred.
Take It Step by Step
Making the workplace sustainable does not happen overnight. However, these suggestions are a great place to begin. As your workplace grows more accustomed to these new practices, keep innovating and introducing better methods to conserve energy and have more eco-friendly operations.
It takes many big and small adjustments on the part of the employer and employees to transition into sustainable practice. When everyone is working together, you achieve your goal faster.
